ANNUAL REVIEW 2018 - 2019
FAITH IN YOUNG PEOPLE
FAITH IN YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WE ARE The Boys’ Brigade is a volunteer led, uniformed Christian youth organisation, which provides youth and children’s work to the Christian Church. Founded by Sir William Smith in Glasgow in 1883, through partnership with local Churches we provide a safe and caring place where children and young people can learn, grow and discover.
OUR VISION Our vision is that children and young people experience “life to the full” (John 10:10). Faith in Young People, expresses our belief in young people, in their skills, abilities and their voice, and, as a Christian movement, our commitment to sharing and exploring faith. We believe that empowering children and young people is important and do this by involving them in decision making and responsibility at all levels of the Brigade.
2018-2019 SESSION It has been an incredible year with so much going on across the Brigade which included us celebrating our 135th anniversary. We have continued to work to the main themes of our strategy Growth, Quality and Voice, with a particular emphasis on improving the quality of experience for children and young people through our Raise the Bar campaign. This reflects our belief that by focussing on the quality of our work we can see the BB reaching out to more children and young people through sustained growth in membership. We have also been active in ensuring our young people have a voice both internally and externally with them taking a lead in shaping both our movement and the world they live in. Although rightly proud of our rich heritage this session we have also taken the time to reflect on our work, to enable us to look ahead and determine our priorities and vision for the future. We have invested time consulting with our membership as well as carrying out external research to help shape the future of the movement. We hope that you will agree that much has been achieved and we are excited to highlight the progress we have made in this review.
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OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS = 1,253
Our age group numbers
Churches across UK & RoI
new Churches have chosen BB as their partner in outreach and mission with children and young people in the local community
= 11,522
3 3,48
= 15
Key: Anchors – 13,969
13,969
10,152
Juniors – 13,065 Company – 10,152
13,065 Seniors – 3,483
adult volunteers
7,717 / 3,805
= 1,028 new adult volunteers have come on board
= 40,669 children and young people in membership
39,017 / 1,652
= 7,511 Children and young people started out on their BB adventure
= 647 young people gained the highest award, The Queen’s Badge
THE BOYS’ BRIGADE ANNUAL REVIEW 2018 - 2019
= 850+ young people participated in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
= 550+ holidays were provided giving over 13,500 Children and young people over 45,000 nights away
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DEVELOPING Much has been achieved during the session and these pages only provide some highlights from the year under review. We have continued to explore ways to start new work and to grow existing Companies to provide every child GROWTH or young person with the opportunity to join BB regardless of where they live.
We want all of our members to have the best possible experience; to have fun, to achieve and to be able to QUALITY participate fully in their Companies and the wider Brigade.
Throughout the Brigade our staff team have not only supported the work of existing groups but have also helped to start new Companies. This work has involved engaging with Churches, supporting programmes, identifying and training new leaders and recruiting new members.
Raise the Bar our campaign focusing on quality set challenges for each and every part of the organisation, focussed on raising the quality of experience for children and young people in The Boys’ Brigade. Through the campaign we have seen local groups and areas taking on the challenges, examples of this have included Companies reviewing their programme and planning termly, streamlining their administration through making more use of OBM and getting out and about in the local community.
In keeping with our strapline ‘The adventure begins here’ The Boys’ Brigade continues to provide opportunities to children and young people beyond those possible at school or at home. Residential activities including sleepovers, camps and trips abroad continue to be key highlights in the programme for children and young people.
ROADSHOW RAISE THE BAR 04
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As part of our commitment to Raise the Bar we visited 14 locations across England, Scotland and Wales with our Raise the Bar Roadshow enabling our staff team to meet with over 400 leaders to update and inform them about developments, provide training opportunities and encourage involvement in the campaign.
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Funding received through the Youth United Foundation from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has enabled us to invest in the development of core areas of our work. Through this funding we have relaunched our programmes for under 11’s with new resources delivered to leaders, developed additional functionality in Online Brigade Manager to streamline administration as well as create and make new digital resources accessible to support the recruitment of new members. We have also continued to invest in our learning and development strategy for leaders and have developed an e-learning platform which will enable us to provide additional training opportunities for our volunteers to ensure they have the skills and knowledge they need to carry out their role.
Putting our “Faith in Young People” strapline into practice, ensuring that our members’ voices are heard VOICE both inside and outside of the organisation. Many of our young people have been contributing to their local communities and making a real difference. We have seen examples that include supporting local night shelters, raising money for charity, volunteering abroad and cleaning up local spaces. The Brigade is proud to currently have two young people on the Youth United Foundation Youth Panel. Lee Bird (1st Sittingbourne) is the Chair of the panel and Daria Bageac (53rd Manchester) is the youngest member at 14 years old. The panel have been carrying out a key piece of research on behalf of the government on the benefits of volunteering and the impact of loneliness. The Boys’ Brigade was represented at a roundtable event on the growing issue of knife crime hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales at Clarence House. Shabazz Dyer (133rd London), aged 17 from was invited to the event to contribute and promote the importance of uniformed youth groups in offering young people a different route in life away from crime. The voice of our members is also represented at a national level, with examples including our delegation to the British Youth Council and also the election of Alistair Thomson (1st Bearsden) and Chris Winters (7th Wishaw) to the Scottish Youth Parliament.
THE BOYS’ BRIGADE ANNUAL REVIEW 2018 - 2019
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CENTENARY OF THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Members from across the Brigade were involved in local and national commemorative events and activities to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, including a group of 80 young people and leaders who represented the Brigade at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London.
A YEAR IN PIC TURE
02 EASTER COURSE IN SNOWDONIA The Brigade played host to this year’s Easter Course, which was held in Snowdonia National Park. Over 40 participants attended from Christian Youth Organisations based in several different European countries.
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NORTHERN IRELAND QUEEN’S BADGE CELEBRATION
In April members from across Northern Ireland came together at Belfast City Hall for their Annual Queen’s Badge celebration, recognising the 227 young people who have gained the Queen’s Badge during the session. The awards were presented by Lady Mary Peters.
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LEADERS More than 90 young people aged between 17 and 21 took part in KGVI youth leadership training courses at Carronvale House, Felden Lodge and Newport to support and equip them as they move into leadership roles within the Brigade.
05 REGIONAL CAMPS The late May bank holiday weekend saw hundreds of young people take part in regional camps in England & Wales (Unite) and Scotland (Cumbrae Camp). Those who attended had the opportunity to camp for the weekend, take part in a wide range of activities and come together for times of worship.
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WWW.BOYS-BRIGADE.ORG.UK
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OUR FINANCES 2018-2019
06 JUNIORS GIANT SLEEPOVER Almost 400 Juniors from across Scotland spent an evening and overnight at Glasgow Science Centre, one of Scotland’s top visitor attractions. Members experienced the planetarium, live Science Show and interactive scientific exhibits.
07 700+ ATTEND LIFE 2 THE MAX
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One of the biggest events organised across the Brigade in 2019 saw over 700 young people and leaders from London and beyond take part in Life 2 the Max at Felden Lodge, BB Headquarters. It was a fantastic day for all age groups which included funfair rides, inflatables, games, a time of worship with Chip Kendall and much more!
INCOME Donations and Legacies
£78,320
Training Centre Income
£670,642
Investment Income
£43,732
Annual Capitation
£914,094
Net gains on Investments
£19,366
08 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Supplies Sales
£485,789
Unrestricted Grants Received
£95,166
More than 200 Companies from across the Brigade took part in this year’s National Competitions which each culminated in national finals held in the regions. Congratulations to all that took part in 2018-19, the winners were:
Restricted Grants Received
£334,519
Annual Festival & Events
£62,846
5-a-side Football (Junior) – 7th Wishaw 5-a-side Football (Senior) – 1st Moneymore
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Badminton – 4th Newtownabbey Chess – 1st Crowborough Masterteam – 4th Newtownabbey Table Tennis – 44th Glasgow
EXPENDITURE
GUILD PARTNERSHIP
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Last year BB Scotland began a three year partnership with the Church of Scotland Guild. Over the last 12 months BB speakers, including many young leaders, have presented the work of BB Scotland in 178 Churches across the region as part of this partnership. With the funds already received from the Guild a new Mini-Grants scheme has been set up for Companies across Scotland.
Cost of Raising Funds
£320,986
Training Centres (non-Brigade use)
£493,071
Training Centres (Brigade use)
£73,726
Unrestricted Grants Payable
£112,702
Restricted Grants Payable
£16,990
Unrestricted Management & Delivery of Activities
£1,024,999
Actuarial Losses on Defined Benefit Scheme
£44,000
Supplies Administration
£84,694
Supplies Cost of Sales
£298,473
Investment Management Fees
£6,372
Restricted Management &
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Delivery of Activities
£233,702
THE BOYS’ BRIGADE Patron: H.M. The Queen President: The Lord Griffiths of Burry Port Brigade Secretary/CEO: Mr Bill Stevenson
OUR OBJECT The advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect and all that tends towards a true Christian Manliness.
MOTTO Sure & Steadfast - Hebrews 6:19
HEADQUARTERS UK & Republic of Ireland Felden Lodge, Hemel Hempstead, HP3 0BL Tel: 01442 231 681 Email: enquiries@boys-brigade.org.uk
CAN YOU HELP US?
England & Wales Felden Lodge, Hemel Hempstead, HP3 0BL
PRACTICALLY
Tel: 01442 288 558
Many of our Companies need more volunteer leaders and there are groups that have to operate waiting lists. With the support of more adults, the BB experience
Scotland
could be offered to more children and young people. Could you help us by sharing
Carronvale House, Carronvale Road, Stirlingshire FK5 3LH
some of your time to support a local Company? Full support and training is given to
Tel: 01324 562 008
all of our volunteers. Please contact us for details of a local group.
Northen Ireland
PRAYERFULLY
Newport
Each week thousands of young people come into the Church environment
117 Culcavey Road, Hillsborough BT26 6HH
through the activities of The Boys’ Brigade. Many have no other connection with
Tel: 028 9268 8444
the Church. The support of prayer for leaders and members is vital in our ongoing
Republic of Ireland
commitment to advance Christ’s Kingdom. There are also details of specific
Unit C1 Nutgrove Office Park, Nutgrove Avenue
projects that you may wish to pray for on our website.
Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
FINANCIALLY
Tel: 0035 31 296 4622
REGISTERED COMPANY / CHARITY The Boys’ Brigade is a Company limited by guarantee,
£
The Boys’ Brigade is mainly dependent on raising finances through its membership. We do not feel that we can ask more of those that give so freely of their time week
registered in England & Wales number 145122.
by week. With greater financial resources, the Brigade could offer more support to
A registered charity in England and Wales (305969) and
its Companies and expand its work to attract more young people into the life of the
Scotland (SC0038016)
church. Can you help by means of a single donation or through a regular financial
DESIGN
giving? For details of our “Friends” scheme, please contact us.
Vision Tank - www.visiontank.co.uk
W W W. B OYS - B R I GA D E . O R G . U K